"The cool thing about it was that I led the cheer," said Brenden. "I got to run around with the players."

Brenden, from Vancouver, Wash., estimates he's only missed "one or two" Duck football games in his short lifetime. So when the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon gave him the chance to coach the Ducks or visit The Ellen Show, it took only a quick consultation with friends before settling on football.

Dad Marshall Potts thought he made the right choice.

"I kinda like Ellen, but I'm all for the Ducks," said Juli Potts, Brenden's mom.

Brenden has VATER syndrome, meaning he was born with some birth anomalies.

"He's spent a lot of time in the hospital having surgical repair work done," said Juli Potts. "He's overcome quite a bit. We're not out of the woods yet, but we feel like we've overcome quite a bit at this point."

At Friday's morning practice, Brenden's parents were nearly as excited as their son.

"Almost brought tears to my eyes," said Marshall Potts. "It was very emotional."

"It was very exhilarating," said Juli Potts. "I was a little worried the second round around the field, because I knew he was going to get tired."

Brenden and family will be at Saturday's game, where he hopes to spend a little more time with his favorite players -- Masoli and Ed Dixon.